European leaders support eventual Trump-Zelensky-Putin meeting

2025-08-16 16:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

European leaders on Saturday offered their support for a trilateral summit between US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and their Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, after a summit between the United States and Russia in Alaska on August 15 failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

In a statement signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they insisted on increasing pressure on Russia until peace is achieved, including imposing sanctions.

European leaders have also insisted that Moscow "cannot have a veto right" over Ukraine's decisions to join the European Union or NATO.

Russia, on the other hand, has made it clear that it will not tolerate Kiev's membership in the North Atlantic alliance. However, European leaders have said they are ready to work towards a trilateral summit, with the support of the EU.

The August 15 meeting between Trump and Putin ended without any concrete results towards ending the war launched by Russia in Ukraine in February 2022.

"We will continue to tighten sanctions and other economic measures to increase pressure on Russia's economic warfare until there is a lasting peace," a joint statement by European officials said.

European leaders have been uneasy about the Trump-Putin meeting, arguing that Zelensky should have been included in the summit in Alaska.

In a separate statement, Starmer praised Trump for his efforts to bring the parties closer to an end to the war.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – who is friendly with Trump and Putin – has applauded the summit.

"For years we have seen the two largest nuclear powers breaking the framework of their cooperation and sending hostile messages. This has now ended. Today the world is a safer place than yesterday," Orban said in a post on X - formerly Twitter.

However, Macron has called for caution against what he called Putin's "documented tendency to break promises."

He has demanded that any peace agreement include "unbreakable" security guarantees.

The French president has also called for increased pressure on Russia until a lasting peace is achieved.

European leaders have welcomed what they have called "security guarantees" mentioned by Trump, but without providing further details.

A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency that Trump has offered Ukraine similar - but separate - guarantees to those for NATO membership.

"Strong security guarantees that protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe are essential," von der Leyen wrote in X.

Trump and Putin discussed for nearly three hours at a US military base in Alaska.

Trump has said his team has made "great progress" toward ending the war, but there is still no agreement.

Putin said Russia is insisting on what he calls the "root of the problem" - the language the Kremlin uses to demand the disarmament of the Ukrainian military and that Ukraine give up its ambitions for NATO membership./ REL